3 Things I Learned from Going Grain-Free

Have you ever started a diet that eliminated entire food groups or ingredients, and wondered how on Earth to make this a lifestyle? Here are 3 things I learned from going grain-free that can improve your own dietary change.

Happy National Nutrition Month! Whether you are starting a new diet or looking to improve your overall health, you may be struggling with how to approach dietary changes in a healthy and sustainable way.

Before I share with you my experiences with going grain-free, let me first state that I am NOT a fan of strict “eat-this, don’t eat that” types of diets. When I lost 100 pounds, I ADDED foods to my life that naturally filled me up so I was less inclined to eat the large portions of unhealthy foods I had become accustomed to.

As a certified holistic coach, I am not aligned with any particular dietary philosophies and do not sell any supplements or products. Instead, I guide coaching clients to create a lifestyle they can love, without restrictive diets or counting calories.

However, in my own personal journey, I have decided to try experimenting with different ways of eating that had NOTHING to do with weight loss. Instead, I was trouble-shooting some very specific health concerns.

These different experiments included going gluten-free (several times), eliminating dairy, going vegetarian and vegan, and trying grain-free living. I did not go blind into these eating experiments, and I was working with another health professional for the grain-free lifestyle specifically.

What is most helpful for your particular dietary plan is to be very clear on WHY you are seeking a diet that eliminates food groups or ingredients, and WHAT you hope to achieve from this lifestyle. As a side note, be real with yourself in terms of HOW LONG you can sustain it.

Personally, I do not feel that any food is bad, have yet to see compelling research that proves any food will kill you (correlation is not proof), and enjoy eating a variety of different foods.

Benefits of Grain Free Living

So, why did I even choose to go grain-free? If you are familiar with my weight loss story, in the beginning I focused mainly on eating more fiber than whole grains, beans and nuts.

How does someone go from loving the grains to removing all grains?

Before I jump into my personal reasons, here is what the research says about grain-free eating.

According to Healthline, removing grains from your diet is purported to offer various health benefits, from improved digestion to reduced inflammation and blood sugar levels. People with certain autoimmune diseases commonly follow a grain-free diet, and a 6-week study on grain-free eating in people with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) found a 73% improvement in their symptoms.

Personally, I experimented with removing grains at the advice of a naturopath in order to trouble-shoot some respiratory-stress I was experiencing. I wasn’t feeling my best, and wanted to see if this dietary change would help some of my symptoms, such as phlegm and a cough that lingered.

Please note: I had already experimented with removing dairy from my diet, but that did not improve my symptoms as I’d hoped. Thus, I sought out a health professional who uses a different modality than I. If you implemented changes recently in your diet, and are not seeing improvement or finding it difficult to master, that is where seeking out support is most useful.

This naturopath did not promote the grain-free diet. Instead, she called it the Alkaline Diet. Now, as a health coach myself, I tend to be skeptical of certain dietary approaches that demonize certain foods or food groups. Yet, I am usually willing to try different approaches at least once.

What is the Alkaline Diet

According to proponents of the alkaline diet, the metabolic waste — or ash — left from the burning of foods can directly affect the acidity or alkalinity of your body. The premise is that choosing more alkaline foods will “alkalize” your body and improve your health.

Really acidic foods include: meat, poultry, fish, dairy, eggs, grains, alcohol

More alkaline foods include: fruits, nuts, legumes, and vegetables

Now, I was already halfway to an alkaline diet- I had enjoyed being vegetarian and was mostly dairy-free. I am not a big drinker, so my biggest challenge for this type of diet was going to be giving up grains.

Remember, my intent had NOTHING to do with weight loss, though removing all of these foods could potentially result in weight loss.

Interestingly enough, Healthline ranks the alkaline diet as a 2.13 out of 5, and none of the health claims have been proven by any reliable human studies.

So, why did I agree to this dietary plan? Well, the goal was to try it for 30 days. Plus, our experience of any dietary change will be specific to us. That is one of the reasons I encourage my clients to create their own dietary program through a coaching process of discovery, awareness and insights.

What I Learned on the Grain-Free Diet

As you can imagine, this type of diet was rather extreme for what I was eating at the time. My diet was composed of approximately 40-60% grains. And, while I could certainly bulk up on protein-heavy foods, I was even restricted from my typical favorites, like eggs and chicken. Finally, I seemed to be reacting to nuts and nut butters, especially almonds. That did not leave a lot of choices for what to eat.

The first thing I learned was:

Always be Prepared

Preparation is the name of the game when it comes to changing your diet. The less prepared you are, the less likely you will remain “compliant”. Why else would there be entire accountability groups dedicated to maintaining “compliance” with various dietary philosophies- from keto to intermittent fasting to vegan?

In my case, being prepared meant I always prepped my meals ahead of time and had access to the right snacks.

To be honest, it was a bit of a pain in the butt to prep so much food that only I could (or would) eat. At the time, I was working outside the home, and packed my lunch every morning. I ate the same breakfast every day. So, not only was it annoying, but it was a bit BORING.

To top if off, I rarely at the same dinner as my family at night. Even if my husband cooked, I would have to make my own food without the grains. My husband prefers one pot cooking, but luckily often prepped rice on the side.

In terms of eating out, that was a blasted nightmare! While many restaurants these days offer gluten-free food, vegetarian or vegan food, or low fat substitutes, there were practically ZERO restaurants that specifically remove grains from their dishes. Vegetarian restaurants tend to be high in grains, gluten-free restaurants might still have pseudocereals (like quinoa) or too much meat, and salad has never appealed to me as a “meal” (not to mention that many restaurant salad dressings are SUPER high in sugar).

I felt like I had to be constantly vigilant with my time, meals and schedule, which was exhausting. And, I had to be willing to choose convenience over compliance at least some of the time.

That is where the second thing I learned comes in:

Find your Substitutes

No matter what dietary change you are pursuing, you must master the art of substitution. This is probably one of the main reasons that people DROP DIETS- because the substitutes either a) don’t satisfy b) are too hard to make/find or c) are too expensive.

I love substituting- from adapting my baking recipes to finding tasty replacements for foods I love to recreating snacks I no longer want to buy from the store. I have created custom meal plans for clients who are changing their diet, hosted workshops in my home to create a full week of meals together, and presented e-books of healthy treats (many of which are grain-free, dairy-free and gluten-free) and easy breakfast recipes.

It’s fair to say that I love helping others with the art of substitution.

However, not all substitutes are created equal, and this is why it’s important to be clear on your new guidelines.

For example, when I was grain-free, I just wanted some crackers, but of course couldn’t eat anything with wheat, rice, rye, or barley. I found some beet crackers that appeared to fit the guidelines, until I read the food label.

The ingredients listed potatoes, corn fiber, and soy lecithin as well as a bunch of things that I couldn’t pronounce, so I put that box right back on the shelf.

Anytime a common ingredient is REMOVED from a food product, something else is ADDED back in. Sometimes, multiple ingredients are added in to preserve the taste and/or texture of the food. People won’t buy things that taste bad.

If you’re avoiding gluten, you know that the front of the food label will identify that for you, but if you are avoiding multiple common ingredients, the only way you can remain compliant is to become a food NINJA. I had the same experience when I went vegan- few labels identify vegan foods, and the ingredients list could indicate other undesirable ingredients you may be avoiding.

At the end of the day, these challenges will require you to learn to cook or prep your own food most of the time, at least until you find your “crutch” foods that are packaged. If you don’t or aren’t willing to commit time and energy to meal prep or cooking, then a dietary change may be harder for you.

Then, there is the perhaps the hardest lesson from going grain-free.

Nobody Cares about your New Diet

Unless you join a support or accountability group, no one will care what you ARE or ARE NOT eating! Sometimes, this will slap you in the face.

• If you are at a group event or family gathering, you will most be exposed to a smorgabord of delicious food that you absolutely cannot eat.

• If you start chatting with someone you just met about the trials and tribulations of your new diet, you may feel the wind whooshing past you as they make a quick exit.

• If you meet friends for Happy Hour at the local restaurant, you may feel frustrated by the abandon with which they eat and drink, or feel less than satisfied about the apple you ate ahead of time.

• If you cook for your family, then they may moan, groan and generally critique your cooking as if you were auditioning for the Next Food Network Star.

• If you are out with your family, they may push food you to eat just one bite, whether out of love or spite.

Starting a new diet is a very lonely place to be, even if your family and friends are outwardly supportive. If they don’t know or understand why you are pursuing this change, they may even try to sabotage you.

You’re not eating for THEM. You are eating for YOU.

That doesn’t make it any easier when you desire to eat your former favorite foods.

I made it through about 30 days of eating grain-free, and that was enough for me. Coincidentally, I stopped working with that naturopath about the same time. I had more faith in making overall dietary changes than the expensive supplements she was urging me to take. Another challenge of changing your diet while taking supplements is not knowing which one had the biggest impact on your results.

After 30 days, my personal results from the diet was not worth the time, energy and motivation I needed to stay on it.

Maybe you are looking at a dietary change that could become your new lifestyle. In that case, consider whether coaching could bridge the gap between what you are doing now and what you wish to do in the future. Not only do you receive support and resources for your personal journey, but you can eliminate or reduce the challenges of any new dietary change.